The Dickin Medal Cat

I found this amazing, the British Army has a medal, called the Dickin Medal that they award to animals who have served in the military. This year, a black lab has been awarded the medal for his bomb sniffing abilities. That does not surprise me, labs are great. But this snippet in a BBC article really caught me off guard.

"A total of 26 other dogs, 32 World War II messenger pigeons, three horses and one cat have won the award"

Yes, you read correctly, a cat has won this military award. A cat. I found that unbelievable and had to find out why.

Here is the reason....

"1949: Simon – the ship's cat on HMS Amethyst during the Yangtze Incident, noted for surviving injuries from a cannon shell, raising morale and killing off a rat infestation during the incident, by doing this duty despite being wounded. He was raised to the fanciful rank of "Able Seacat" and awarded a campaign medal. "

True Story.